The Raspberry Pi Foundation announced today that more than 15,000 children in the UK will be given one of their iconic microcomputers for free, thanks to a donation from Google Giving. Raspberry Pi hope that every child with a talent or interest in computing will now get the chance to learn to code.

To ensure that the devices are going to be well used by pupils and teachers alike Google and Raspberry Pi are working together with six educational partners in the UK, including Teach First, to ensure the devices are given to children who show an enthusiasm and interest in coding and ICT. 

Teach First Acting CEO, John Colenutt, commented from the launch in Cambridgeshire:

“We are delighted to be invited to support this new Google and Raspberry Pi collaboration and are very happy to be involved in such an exciting project. The announcement is an encouraging start to 2013 for the thousands of school children whose enthusiasm to explore the digital age is often challenged by a lack of access to the appropriate tools. Teach First works in partnership with schools in challenging circumstances and is uniquely placed to ensure that young people from low-income communities benefit from this opportunity.

“It is vitally important to equip young people with the right skills to work in the UK’s rapidly growing science and technology sector and to inspire them to develop careers in these fields. In the UK, shortages of teachers in science and mathematics have persisted for more than 25 years. This problem disproportionately affects pupils from low socio-economic backgrounds and the achievement gap for those on free school meals is greater in science and maths than in other subjects. Teach First is addressing this challenge – we are already working in partnership with Google to train, place and support more than 100 new high quality science and IT teachers in schools serving low-income communities across the country. 

“Learning should never be static. It is imperative that the education sector moves forward with innovation and creativity at its heart. The Teach First community is working together to find solutions and new practices that will end educational disadvantage in the UK. We can’t do this alone and we are proud of partnerships like this one, which will help to improve the IT and science skills of tomorrow’s pioneers. Today should be an inspiration to more business and technology leaders to consider what innovation they can offer schools to ensure more young people leave education equipped for the jobs of the future.” 

Brett Wigdortz OBE is currently on sabbatical and will return as our CEO in July 2013.